A.L.F. Scapegoated in Brooklyn Anarchist Free Store Arson

The A.L.F. has been blamed for some absurd things, but this is a first: NYC police and the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force have named the Animal Liberation Front as suspects in an arson against an unlikely target: the Brooklyn Free Store, a community run thrift store.

The fire destroyed the building. The Brooklyn Free Store was a community resource, where people could pick up items for free. What role a small thrift store could have in animal abuse was not explained, and the FBI didn't say why they believed the A.L.F. could be responsible.

I have written in past articles on the A.L.F. being scapegoated in actions that were clearly not the work of animal liberationists. In one example, a kangaroo was found loose near a roadside zoo. The owner told police the kangaroo liberation wasn't the product of inadequate fencing, but the work of the Animal Liberation Front.

In another case. Santa Cruz police hinted the A.L.F. was behind vandalism to a vehicle owned by a UC-Santa Cruz researcher. Problem was, the researcher didn't do animal research.

A Free Store volunteer stated she was "pretty positive that ALF had nothing to do with the fire."